Difficult Times

OSFA

Hi folks
I will be as brief as possible with this so here goes...
I've suffered with M.E since I was 22 and I am now 43. I also suffer with a under active thyroid, Meniers disease,chronic anemia and many other problems.

The big problem is this.. I live on my own. My mother died 3 years ago and I moved into her rented council house. I am on LOW RATE DLA and Incapacity benefit.
I have to pay half my rent and council tax. I can not claim for anything since I am not on Income support.
I have been told that to qualify for income support I need to be on the MIDDLE RATE DLA? How the hell can I get on the middle rate when I have tried and been knocked back. Are there any other benefits I am entitled to?
Please help as things are really hard at the moment and I am finding it very difficult to survive.
Oh, I did say to the dhss that I would come off my Incapacity and DLA so I could get Income support but they said "You can't,you're down as sick for life and unable to work".

All help appreciated. I feel that if things continue I may end up living in a flat which I really don't want as this was my mums home and I enjoy gardening when I can.
Once again, all help appreciated.
John.
I haven't received ever anything like cold winter payments

PolishBigSpender

I'm not an expert, but this doesn't sound right. The whole point of income support is to raise your income - and you would surely be on less money on the 'low rate' than the 'middle rate'?

There's a calculator on http://www.entitledto.co.uk - although I'm not sure as to it's accuracy. It should help you though.

hayley11

OSFA wrote: »

Hi folks
I will be as brief as possible with this so here goes...
I've suffered with M.E since I was 22 and I am now 43. I also suffer with a under active thyroid, Meniers disease,chronic anemia and many other problems.

The big problem is this.. I live on my own. My mother died 3 years ago and I moved into her rented council house. I am on LOW RATE DLA and Incapacity benefit.
I have to pay half my rent and council tax. I can not claim for anything since I am not on Income support.
I have been told that to qualify for income support I need to be on the MIDDLE RATE DLA? How the hell can I get on the middle rate when I have tried and been knocked back. Are there any other benefits I am entitled to?
Please help as things are really hard at the moment and I am finding it very difficult to survive.
Oh, I did say to the dhss that I would come off my Incapacity and DLA so I could get Income support but they said "You can't,you're down as sick for life and unable to work".

All help appreciated. I feel that if things continue I may end up living in a flat which I really don't want as this was my mums home and I enjoy gardening when I can.
Once again, all help appreciated.
John.
I haven't received ever anything like cold winter payments

Well that is absolute rubbish. My sister is on income support and she is not on any form of DLA. I can't understand why you can't get any more help just because you're on IB and not Income Support. It's probably a bit more complex than this but I thought the only difference was IB isn't means tested and IS is means tested, so if you don't have a partner or any savings I can't see at all why you wouldn't get it.

It sounds like you're getting people who just can't be bothered to find out the right information for you so are just fobbing you off.

It sounds like you need to speak to somebody at CAB - they can give you lots of advice and make sure you get all the benefits you are entitled to.

Good luck and don't stop until you get all the support you are entitled to, CAB are great though.

justlikethat_2

Not sure who told you you were not eligible for income support. But have you applied? There is nothing to stop you filling out the forms as long as you disclose all other income. After doing that then you should know if you can get I.S. or not

OSFA

justlikethat wrote: »

Not sure who told you you were not eligible for income support. But have you applied? There is nothing to stop you filling out the forms as long as you disclose all other income. After doing that then you should know if you can get I.S. or not

Hi there,
first of all a big thanx to those for the reply.
I went to our local dhss and explained to them about my situation. The answer was "you need to be on middle rate DLA to get income support.
So am baffled. ????????

scooby1001

How much money a week do you get on incapasity benefit? Alot depends if you get any age aditions with it i think. If your income on IB is more than £86.35 and you are under pension age then chances are you won't be able to get IS. If you get less i would try applying.

OSFA

Yeah i get more than the £86. I think you're right Scooby

daska

I have a friend with this problem. She gets IB, but because she gets IB she can't get IS, and because she doesn't get IS she has to pay full council tax = worse off than if she was on IS.

Is ludicrous!

TaBunny

Hi John, sorry to hear of your troubles, I am on IB and get a top up from income support, I think you should get back on to the DLA and ask them to review your case to see if you can now get middle rate, all the best.

OSFA

Once again thank you all for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.
I did try for the middle rate DLA but was knocked back.
I am finiding it so hard to cope at the moment.
I have phoned the dhss and filled in a form for Income support which they tell me they will send out soon for me to sign. I keep trying !!!!

Should I of been entitled to a cold winter payment ?

hayley11

OSFA wrote: »

Once again thank you all for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.
I did try for the middle rate DLA but was knocked back.
I am finiding it so hard to cope at the moment.
I have phoned the dhss and filled in a form for Income support which they tell me they will send out soon for me to sign. I keep trying !!!!

Should I of been entitled to a cold winter payment ?

You should ask about the cold weather payments, I don't know for definite whether you should have got one or not but it's always worth asking

Good luck and don't forget about CAB, they have welfare rights officers that are there to fill in forms for you and make sure you get every last penny you are entitled to and they can also give advice if you're struggling to pay your bills.